Mayor of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Dr. Cemil Tugay, conducted extensive inspections in the region following the devastating fires that have been going on for three days in Ödemiş and caused the burning of nearly ten villages. In order to rebuild the villages that were severely damaged in the fires, Application for aid campaign to Izmir Governorship President Tugay, who explained what they did, described keeping the villages alive as a “national responsibility.” Tugay said, “Either we will close down and destroy the village here, or we will provide the necessary support for life to continue. We cannot leave our citizens living in the villages alone.”
Mayor of Odemis Municipality, President Tugay, during his inspections Mustafa Turan, Deputy Secretary General of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Ismail Mutaf, Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Fire Department Director Yasar Korkmaz and regional headmen accompanied him. President Tugay, who went to Yeniköy Neighborhood and received information about the damage, conveyed his get well wishes to the citizens who were affected by the fire and emphasized that they will mobilize all their resources to heal the wounds as soon as possible. After Yeniköy, Tugay continued his examinations by visiting the Karadoğan, Tosunlar and Suçıktı neighborhoods affected by the fire. President Tugay, who listened to the needs of the citizens, shared the information that urgent needs such as feed, water tanks and containers will be met quickly.
“The damage in the villages is huge, we cannot handle it alone”
Answering questions from members of the press in the Karadoğan Neighborhood, President Dr. Cemil Tugay revealed the extent of the damage caused by the fires. “We are assessing the damage in our villages. Our Social Services Department is looking at who needs what in all villages. On the other hand, we are also in the field to see the severity of the problem and to identify urgent needs,” said Tugay, drawing attention to the extent of the damage.
President Tugay said that it was not possible to give the exact number, but only in Karadoğan Village. Around 40-50 houses were damaged, and some were completely burned. Tugay, who stated that “Unfortunately, this is one of the villages with the most damage,” added: “Thankfully, there was no loss of life because our villages were evacuated early, but one of our bedridden citizens could not be saved two days ago. Also, a friend from the Regional Forestry Directorate team was martyred. Other than that, there was no loss of life. There were no injuries other than minor injuries. But the material damage is huge. Some of our villages have become almost uninhabitable. We need to do something about this quickly. As the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, we have our own resources to some extent. Perhaps our district municipality will contribute, but the damage is huge. We cannot handle it all.” This statement shows that the extent of the disaster caused by the fire exceeds local resources and that broader support is needed.
Aid Campaign Application and Fire Resistant Construction Vision
A project to repair fire-damaged settlements and rebuild villages in a disaster-resistant manner application for aid campaign President Tugay, who announced what they did, also called on the citizens. “I actually want to make a call for help to our citizens. Then, I think we should rebuild these villages with the support of those who helped. That's why I gave instructions to our friends, they are currently applying to the governor's office. After it is approved, we will start an aid campaign. We want to renew these houses and gardens, and ensure that our villagers can do animal husbandry again and continue their lives,” he said.
President Tugay said that the newly built houses will have at least to roofs that don't burn He expressed his desire to produce more permanent solutions against fires by stating that they want to have more permanent solutions. “A little while ago, one of our citizens said, ‘My house didn’t burn down because it was a fire-resistant type.’ Most houses burn down because of the flames coming from the roof. While rebuilding the houses, let’s make them fire-resistant and increase our fire-related precautions around the village. Let’s increase the number of fire extinguishing vehicles. We need to do this in all of our villages. Let’s start with our burned villages first, and then let’s rehabilitate our other villages in this way. We will put this on our agenda as one of our most important work issues,” he said. This approach not only aims to compensate for the current damage, but also to create settlements that are more resilient to future fires.
“We All Have a National Responsibility”: The Future of Villages
Keeping the villages alive a national duty President Tugay, who described the situation as “the most serious problem”, stated that everyone should support this situation. “The responsibility here falls on all of us. We need to determine the extent of the damage, who needs what urgently, and what we will do step by step from now on. We are working on this right now. We need to repair the surrounding ecosystem as much as possible. There is no other way. Either we will close down and destroy this village, or we will provide the necessary support for life to continue here.”
Tugay also touched upon the contributions of citizens living in villages to society. “The situation in villages has shown us this once again. In fact, 7 percent of the population in Türkiye lives in villages. There are very few people, but they are very valuable to us. Because despite living in very difficult conditions, they make very important contributions to all of our lives with their agriculture and animal husbandry. We cannot leave them alone. I believe that we all have a national responsibility. We must continue on our path by taking precautions for similar disasters that may occur in the coming periods. I believe that we will rebuild these villages with the support of our people and sensitive people. Then, life will begin again here and we will heal our wounds,” he said. These words emphasize that villages are not only settlements, but also have critical importance in terms of the country’s food production and rural life culture.
Fire Causes and Power Lines Emphasis
Ödemiş Mayor Mustafa Turan, who shared the discoveries made in the region and the experiences of the villagers, said that the fire started in the Manastır area. Evidence suggests that the fire started when electric wires broke due to wind and ignited the stubble where they fell. He explained that it was. Speaking on Mustafa Turan’s statements, President Tugay made an important observation regarding the causes of the fires: “Those who experienced the incident have widespread complaints, especially about electricity. They say that the fire started from electricity poles in many places. We have to talk about these not to make accusations here, but to assess the situation. There is a serious problem of lack of maintenance in rural areas, in lines passing through forests or in lines going to villages. They break out a lot in these places. Every fire eventually starts with a tiny spark. They turn into unextinguishable fires due to dry, hot weather and wind.”
President Tugay called for urgent measures to be taken regarding power lines. “Millions of trees burned, there is very serious damage in maybe ten villages here right now. Hundreds of people were left homeless. The only reason for this was maybe a tiny spark from a pole. There is no compensation for the damage that occurred. Whatever needs to be done regarding power lines needs to be done as soon as possible to prevent this from happening. We saw it on the road a moment ago. An old wooden pole carries an important power line. It has also burned. Our friends took pictures. These things should not happen. There is no explanation,” he said. These statements show that eliminating infrastructural deficiencies is of vital importance in preventing fires.
Izmir's Solidarity Spirit Will Beat for the Fire
The Izmir Metropolitan Municipality has applied to the Izmir Governorship for an aid campaign to support citizens who have suffered due to fires within the municipality's jurisdiction. The resources to be collected within the scope of the campaign will be used to provide shelter for disaster victims, rebuilding and maintenance of burned houses, barns, shelters, food, clean drinking water, clothing, hygiene materials, transportation, energy supply such as electricity and natural gas, communication infrastructure, sewage and water networks, household goods, white goods, kitchenware, basic living materials such as beds and heaters, animal feed, shelter, seedlings, seeds, fertilizer and equipment required for agricultural production. If the 3-month in-kind and cash application is approved, Izmir Metropolitan Municipality will start its work with all its might and the support of the citizens. It is expected that Izmir's spirit of solidarity will come into play in these difficult days.
